Greta and the Giants By Zoë Tucker

Year 2 English 6th July 2020

1. Comprehension of the text

Word of the day – activist Definition: someone who brings about political or social change by

campaigning (planned activities that people carry out).

Example: Greta Thunberg was an environmental activist.

Read through the story of Greta and the Giants.

Answer these questions in full sentences to check you understand what you have read.

1. Why do you think the wolf whispered to Greta when he first spoke to her?

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2. How are the giants described on the third page of the book?

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3. Name 3 things the giants built.

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4. Which word means the flowers were stepped on?

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5. Why were the giants embarrassed and sad?

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Answers:

1. The wolf whispered because he was scared. 2. The giants are described as huge, lumbering oafs. 3. Any three of the following: houses, towns, cities, factories, shops, cars and

planes. 4. The word that means the flowers were stepped on is ‘trampled’. 5. The giants were embarrassed and sad because they had been selfish and not

thought about the forest and animals. They felt bad.

Word of the day -persuade Definition: to cause someone to do or think something because you have given

them a good reason.

Example: The children persuaded the teacher to have an earlier break time.

2. To know the features of persuasive writing

In this lesson, we are going to look at some of the features of persuasive writing.

The aim of persuasive writing is to have some influence over

the reader/audience.

Some features may be: (depending on if it is a letter, poster or leaflet)

- A catchy title - Reasons for or against

something – facts and key information

- Imperative (bossy) verbs - Expanded noun phrases - Emotional phrases or

words to pull on people’s heart strings

- Use of repetition – repeat the main ideas.

Which features can you see in this letter to Father Christmas?

Repeating the main idea Expanded noun phrases Key facts/information

Some features may be: (depending on if it is a letter, poster or leaflet)

- A catchy title - Reasons for or against

something – facts and key information

- Imperative (bossy) verbs

- Expanded noun phrases

- Emotional phrases or words to pull on people’s heart strings

- Use of repetition – repeat the main ideas.

Repeating the main idea Expanded noun phrases Key facts/information

Word of the day - extinct Definition: a species of animal or plant that is no longer alive. This can

be in a particular place or the world.

Example: The dodo is now extinct.

3. Create a persuasive poster

Today you are going to create a poster you could hold up to persuade the giants to stop destroying the forests.

Here’s some examples of posters.

Your poster must include:

-eye catching pictures

-a snappy title, maybe in bold

writing -A reason why the forests should be

saved

Save the

forests!

X

Word of the day - rare Definition: something that is not common so is of interest or valuable.

Example: Her ring contained a very rare diamond.

4. Plan a persuasive letter

In this session we are going to think about why we should save the forest, ready to write a letter to the giants in the next

session.

What reasons can you think of to save the forest from the giants?

Record your ideas on the next page.

Reason 1

Reason 2

Expanded noun phrases:

Plan Start by explaining briefly why you are writing.

Close by reminding them of the important facts and state you want to receive a reply.

Reason 1 -Destroying the animals’ habitats. -Where will they live? -They might become extinct - dodo

Reason 2 -Killing lots of plants -Bees need flowers to live – they might die and they are very important -plants are used to make lots of medicines – it might be difficult to make them if they forests are destroyed

Expanded noun phrases: beautiful forest ancient trees rare species

Word of the day - endanger Definition: put something or someone in a situation where they can be

harmed or destroyed completely.

Example: There are many endangered species such as they lynx.

5. Write a persuasive letter

We are going to use our plan to write a letter to the giants trying to persuade them not to cut down any more forests.

This letter is going to be a more formal letter. Therefore, we need to sound serious and try to use persuasive phrases.

You could use these too:

Firstly… Secondly… In my opinion… Some believe that… I feel that… I am sure that…

Success criteria - Key reasons clearly explained – use ‘because’ - Imperative (bossy) verbs - Expanded noun phrases - Use of repetition – repeat the main ideas - Paragraphs to organise your reasons

Use my model on the next page to see how to set your work out as well as how to open and close your letter.

Tudor Grange Primary Academy St James,

Halifax Road, Shirley, Solihull, B90 2BT

10th July 2020

Giant’s Building Enormous Lane Gigantic Town HU1 3GE

Dear Giant,

I am writing to you to ask you to please stop cutting down the forest. I have some important reasons which I will explain.

First, cutting down the forest will destroy the natural habitat of many animals. If you do this, where will they live? Without their natural habitat, animals could become endangered or rare species may become extinct, like the dodo did and they will not be around for future generations of children to see. I’m sure you wouldn’t want that, would you?

In addition to this, plants and flowers will also be destroyed. Many beautiful flowers or ancient trees will be removed. Whilst these are home to many animals, they also provide food for them too. Bees need flowers to survive and bees are very important in helping to pollinate crops so they grow. Trees help to keep our atmosphere healthy and provide us with oxygen that we need to survive. Surely you agree that they are vital for humans as well as animals.

I really hope you stop cutting down the forest to make more houses, factories and roads because our animals need their habitats and plants are so important for our atmosphere.

I look forward to your reply.

Yours sincerely, Mrs Lewis